Between Dome of the Rock and a Hard Place
Israelis love to think about themselves as little ‘d’ democrats, but they have a very peculiar way of understanding democratic principles. A new poll released today by the Israel Democracy Institute brings into full, awkward view the contradictory, mutually inconsistent definitions of democracy that cohabit the Israeli psyche. First the (semi) flattering news. 51% of [...]
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Two posts ago I discussed the Israeli media reporting of a recent poll, and I highlighted how the framing of the matter contributes to Israeli fears, which run directly counter to the attitudes required to make genuine peace. Today we have another striking example. The Jerusalem Post (again) announces: Majority of Palestinians Oppose Peace Talks [...]
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Without exaggeration, one of the single most important factors in the Israel/Palestinian conflict is the way that Jews fear Arabs and Persians in general, and Palestinians in particular. This fear is reflected in a constant distrust of such penetrating depth that it is routine to hear that we can’t actually believe, say, the comprehensive Arab [...]
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There are seven reasons why Ari Shavit’s seven reasons to recognize Israel as a Jewish state form the primary basis for conflict rather than offer any solution. Here I address his hyper-nationalistic detritus one point at a time. An (Exclusivist) National Home The first argument he makes is that “the supreme goal of Zionism is [...]
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The big story at the moment is the forthcoming law that would require all non-Jews, who want to become Israeli citizens, to make a loyalty oath to Israel as a “Jewish and democratic” state. Although revealing in the insecurity of identity and purpose that motivates it, it really is just one more law (among at [...]
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Another morning coffee and another news item about Israelis murdering Palestinians. Just yesterday the IDF spokesperson confirmed a very telling statistic: like the year 2009 before it, the year 2010 is shaping up to be the quietest year for Israelis in a decade (note: this is exclusively in terms of Palestinian attacks on Israelis; there [...]
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Drivel taken as gospel is the Israeli norm whenever the IDF spokesperson opens her mouth. Political leaders in endless cycles of corruption are casually pardoned whenever they say, thickly, “Terrrrrorrrr”. Considering Israelis’ boundless and unquestioning adoration for the military establishment, it must be extraordinarily painful to read details about the decision making processes during one [...]
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Israel’s leaders are tripping over themselves to pay respects to the recently deceased Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu and thereby earn themselves some street cred with Israel’s religious ultra-nationalists. A Biography of Support for Terrorism and War Crimes Eliyahu was the “spiritual leader of the national religious movement in Israel” who served previously as the Sephardic chief [...]
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The last few blog posts have focused on the contradictions—that is, fabrications—coming out of the “IDF” Press Office and Israeli Foreign Ministry about the flotilla massacre. Here, I focus again on the IDF effort to paint the humanitarian activists as terrorists. The point is not new; it has been making the rounds on the blogosphere, [...]
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The Freedom Flotilla has inspired some rabid and quite insane responses from my countrypeople and co-religionists. The following videos/articles don’t need a lot of extra commentary. I just wanted to put together some examples of the type of reactions one sees coming out of Israel and the Jewish community. This is, in my view, the [...]
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